Terrible Plight of Darkness and Quill
by earan
Summary: An extract from Link and Zelda's life, where normalcy and suppressed guilt go hand-in-hand. (How two teenage best friends deal with death, especially when they're the Chosen Ones.)


**A Terrible Plight of Darkness and Quill**

By Earan

**Summary**: An extract from Link and Zelda's life, where normalcy and suppressed guilt go hand-in-hand.

**Disclaimer**: All characters belong to Nintendo.

* * *

She had nightmares almost every night. Soon, the raw grief that had shed her into death herself – it dulled, taking the memory of Impa away with it.

She could only watch her die so many times before it lost its shock factor and forget the sound of her screams.

* * *

History was difficult and useless, but her tutor would have none of it. He was convinced, for all of the influence of sheer coincidence and rumour, that the Triforce of Wisdom was somehow supposed to have blessed her with infinite, scholarly knowledge of everything. She had, of course, chosen history as a topic for her thesis thinking it would be simple, looking at the facts of legends and wars – but with Master Rale's reputation as a notoriously difficult supervisor, she couldn't have seen how she had thought it would be simple.

Out of laziness, a sense of procrastination, but mostly for a longing to pass the time, Zelda had been playing with the small flickering flame of her candle that gave a dim, creepy aura in her study room. In a sadistic self-infliction she waited for the wax to drop onto her finger and burn the topmost layer of her skin in a strange and twisted satisfaction. In her state of passive aggressiveness with her tutor insisting she finish her evaluation of _Hyrule as a Myth_, Zelda had shut the curtains, refused more than one candlestick for light, and announced that she would not emerge from her room until she had finished. So far, however, her tutor had not felt the slightest of guilt over his demand, and she was sure at least three hours had passed since she dramatized her impatience over the task.

A soft rap at her door broke her trance.

'Come in,' she called, straightening up in her wooden seat. Link peered in through a tiny space as the door creaked open. She smiled.

'Ah, the Hero is here. Are you here to rescue me from this terrible plight of darkness and quill?'

'From what I heard, you jumped into the darkness pretty eagerly, _Princess_,' said Link with a grin, closing the door as he stepped into the eerie room. 'This is the study room you prefer? It's an uncirculated broom closet.'

'I like the tight space,' Zelda answered unapologetically. She put down her quill and turned around on her stool fully to face him, crossing her arms. 'But I doubt you've come here to enjoy the comforts of my confined vicinity.'

Link did not answer immediately. He peered around the tiny space with his brows furrowed in disapproval, walking to a corner of the room where an empty barrel stood. He wiped his finger on the surface, his face making a further disapproving frown as he blew the dust off his finger and wiped it on his tunic in disgust.

'The comforts of your confined vicinity, huh? More like the Skulltula Queen's lair and nest. Don't be surprised if you come across some eggs,' he smirked, jumping up to sit on the lid of the barrel. 'Maybe they've already hatched and they prefer darkness. The moment your sad, single candle goes out, they'll come out crawling. Will that be enough to lure you out of this Din-forsaken closet?'

'Ugh, Link!' Zelda cried at the mention of Skulltula, lifting her feet off the floor instantly as if burned. 'A Skulltula wouldn't even fit in this room.'

'The baby ones would,' Link said.

Zelda rolled her eyes and twirled around again, facing down at her scroll on the seedy wooden desk that held her candle. With an exaggerated sigh, she tapped her quill against the desk surface.

'In what ways do you think the post-unification of Hyrule shaped our current view on foreign relations?' She asked, facing him.

Link stared at her blankly. 'What?'

'In what ways –'

'Heard you the first time. I'm not helping you cheat on Master Rale's homework.'

'I'm not asking you to help me cheat! I'm just asking for some opinion that'll help me form an answer. Come on, Link. I want to get out of here for the ceremony rehearsal.'

Link shrugged. 'No can do, Princess. I passed mine without help.'

Zelda raised an eyebrow. 'Which one did Rale make you do?'

Link leaned against the wall, tapping his forehead in thought. 'Um…' He stammered. 'He let me choose. I did _Perspectives on the Gerudo_.'

'What? Really?' Zelda said, shaking her head. 'He let you _choose_?'

'Yeah well, maybe he wants you to focus on that one with you being the future queen and all. You're going to have to have some background on your own government. Hey,' Link said brightly, picking up a small ball from a shelf nailed to the wall beside him. 'A broom closet and someone decides to put a ball in here.' He tossed it at the opposite wall, catching it as it bounced back to him. He tossed it again, swiping it with his fingers as it flew towards him. Amused, he kept the rhythm going.

'Anyway,' Link continued, his eyes on the bouncing ball. 'The ceremony isn't until eight moons from now. You have plenty of time to rehearse. It's not like you have a big role anyway – hey!' He caught the ball and held it as he lifted his legs away from Zelda, who had lunged forward slightly to try and hit him.

'I do have a big role!' She yelled defensively. 'I'm supposed to play the harp and sing –'

'Oh, then of course you'd need all the rehearsing if you have to _sing_ –' Link backed away to avoid another attempt to strike his legs. 'Watch it, Princess! You're making me lose my beat.' He waved the ball in his hand and when Zelda sat back on her stool, he began bouncing the ball against the wall again.

'I'm supposed to play the harp and sing, and I can't do either. Dad knows I'm better with the ocarina but Master Elane put me on harp and he won't do anything about it.'

'The Ceremony of One Thousand Deaths,' Link mused. 'I'd rather not celebrate something so grim.'

Zelda rolled her eyes. 'It's not _celebrating_,' she said in exasperation. 'It's a remembrance. We may not remember the Great War but our parents' generation does. And your parents died in that war! You should feel more honoured to be a part of it.'

Link made a scathing sound. 'Honoured? I light a candle that a soldier will hold and blow it out. Waste of time.'

In irritation, Zelda caught the ball before Link caught it.

'Hey!' He yelled, sitting up.

'Listen, Link,' she shouted, trying to wear the parental stare that she thought would make him flinch. 'I lost my grandparents in that war, alright? If _you_ want to pretend like some pretentious hero who doesn't actually care, that's fine, but at least respect the fact that _I_ take it seriously.'

They stared at each other for a while, each refusing to blink. Then, Link's face turned to a stony glare, his teeth baring in anger.

'I don't get women,' he blurted out, 'and least of all you, always lashing at me out of nowhere.'

Slightly taken aback at the scolding having backfired, Zelda blinked and sat up, but before she could say anything Link jumped off the barrel and left the room, swinging the door open with such force that it clanked as it hit the wall.

'Hey!' Zelda said, exiting the room in a hurry into the bright hallway. She cringed and squinted at the sudden, piercing light, seeing orbs as she blinked furiously. She caught Link walking down the hallway in a huff. 'Don't walk away from me, Link!'

Catching up to him, she grabbed his arm but in a flash, she was pushed back. Letting out a surprised 'Ah!' and tripping over the hem of her dress, she fell backwards on the marble-stone floor, hitting her back hard in the unexpected fall.

'Oh, Farore,' she heard Link say, and felt his hand on her arm to help her up. 'Zelda, I'm sorry, I didn't mean – _ow_! Hey, I'm trying to help you, alright?'

Zelda had slapped his hand away, standing up on her own and straightening out her dress and dusting herself off. She looked at Link in fury.

'What in Nayru's name is the matter with you?' She screamed unabashed, and the two guards at the end of the hallway a few feet away looked over at them. 'You're like a moody child! You get angry out of nowhere and storm out like a kid in a temper tantrum!'

'Me – _me_?' Link laughed. '_I'm_ the moody one when I leave after _you_ freak out at _me_ for a light joke? You don't know what I'm feeling.'

'I don't care what you're feeling. If you think you can just turn your back and huff away every time you're in a rage –'

'If I want to walk away to cool off, I'm at perfect liberty to do that.'

'Not if I command you to stay! I'm your Queen!' Zelda shouted, the words whistling out of her throat before she could stop herself. Instantly she felt embarrassed, the heat running to fill her cheeks.

Link raised an eyebrow at her, crossing his arms and looking at her with his head cocked slightly to the side. 'You're my _Queen_?' He gave a derisive laugh, shaking his head. 'Not if you command me to stay?' He shook his head with crossed arms in a huff. 'Are you kidding me, Zelda? Who do you think you are?'

'Kid, enough,' a deep voice grunted. The two turned.

One of the guards had wandered over to the two. Link glared at him instantly, knowing this particular guard had never shown any warmth towards him.

'I don't care if you are the Princess' privileged best friend, you don't talk to Her Grace that way. Is he giving you trouble, Your Highness?'

'Please, Brace, that's not necessary,' Zelda interjected quickly, seeing the wounded pride emerge in Link's defensive glare.

'You know,' Brace continued, jabbing Link in the chest with obvious disgust. 'The only reason you walk these great halls is because the Princess allows you to be here. A peasant orphan like you should know better to kiss the ground at her feet.'

'And you're a suck-up who only badgers me when the Princess is around,' Link retorted, crossing his arms. 'Tell me Brace, why does a man of your age and stature constantly seek the approval of a 19-year-old heir-apparent?'

Brace's grip on his pike tightened and he growled, baring his teeth. 'Watch who you're talking to, kid! Your supposed heroic antics match nowhere near the stature of the Hylian guards. Why does a boy of your low rank constantly think he even has the approval of a 19-year-old heir-apparent? Go and make your own fortunes kid, instead of living off the Princess' friendship as everyone knows you do.'

Zelda closed her eyes and shook her head with a hand on her forehead, the heat intensifying in her cheeks in humiliation. She looked up at Link, who was looking away from her at a spot on the floor. Without another word, he brushed past her in the opposite direction towards a side-door of the castle, but not before Zelda saw his face burning in hurt humiliation, his pride shot. With a slam he left the castle into the courtyard, the metal door closing with a thud as he disappeared.

'That kid,' growled Brace.

'For Nayru's sake, Brace,' Zelda hissed, turning to him furiously. 'Hold your tongue. Yet again, I'm reporting to my father your blatant disregard for keeping yourself dignified. How has Link offended you, ever?'

'Your Highness, that kid is freeloading –'

'That is none of your business! Link is under my protection from scathing remarks like yours and it is not up to you to question it! By Din's light…'

Brace, torn between his hatred for Link and authority of Zelda, gave her a short, embarrassed bow. Zelda turned away from him shaking her head, walking down the hall to the side-door and peering through the glass window. Link was sitting on a stone bench bent over with his head in his arms. She carefully pulled the heavy metal door open, stepping down the platform into the small, closed courtyard. As the door screeched, Link looked back at her with an expressionless look.

'Hey,' she called, closing the door behind her. She walked over the grassy area towards the stone bench at the end of the garden, taking a seat beside him.

It was a blood-red sky; the sun was beginning to set, casting a peculiar glow into the courtyard and the shadows of the trees stood like claws over the space. Zelda had entered the small study room when the sun hung high in the skies; she hadn't realized she was in there for so long. When thinking about her rather blank parchment where she was supposed to have Rale's assignment written and completed, she felt anxious at the hours she had wasted and the whole day she would have to devote tomorrow to the assignment.

'I don't know where Brace gets off saying those things,' Zelda started, kicking at the grass and swinging her feet. 'You _know_ no one thinks of you that way. Brace is just an unfulfilled nut who takes it out on you.'

When she looked over at Link beside her, he had turned his back to her.

'I've reprimanded him. Brace is getting on my nerves, actually. I don't know why my father won't just dismiss him already – he's absolutely undignified and is giving the other guards a bad representation.'

Silence.

'Come on, Link, stop being moody. A peasant orphan like you has done more for the Royal Family than Brace or anyone else has done,' she continued. 'You saved the Princess of Hyrule from a gang of Moblins. The King knighted you with the Senior Honour of Knighthood. You're at a higher rank than Brace, for Nayru's sake –'

'What else do those titles mean other than your father's need to be validated in his hierarchy?' Link spat, turning around so quickly that Zelda jumped in her seat, startled. 'Running into you was a coincidence. Anyone else would've tried to help, too.'

'I don't know if you're a naïve optimist or stupid in the real ways of the world,' Zelda muttered. 'You really think that?'

'I know that!' He responded, looking away from her again.

Zelda shook her head. 'You know, you really don't act like you're 19.'

'You really don't act like a Princess ought to act,' retorted Link.

'I'm going to take that as a compliment, and you can be as pushy as you want, but I'm not going anywhere.'

Silence fell again. Zelda stood up when a lone flower caught her eye, a six-petaled blue flower with a bright white stem. She picked it, twirled it in her fingers, examining it carefully.

'Wonder how a Sheikah Flower's sprouting at this time,' she said, holding it up. She watched as Link inconspicuously looked out of the corner of his eye. 'Impa had these seeds saved and we planted them here. She said they were the only things she had left from her homeland.'

She tossed it to the grass, the flower dancing as it twirled its way down. Zelda took a seat in the grass, but decided to lie back staring up at the reddening sky like a ceiling of blood slowly spilling, or like red ink eating away at white parchment. That damn assignment. Her anxiety grew.

Zelda turned her head on the grass, seeing Link in her sideways vision perched up in attention.

'I'm sorry I lashed out at you earlier. I know I have to keep my temper in check. I lash out at you because I know no matter how badly I lash out at you, you'll never leave me.' She sighed, realizing the weight of her confession. 'I know I have to stop taking advantage of that.'

Link mumbled something, but she wasn't quite sure what he had said.

'You say anyone else would've helped?' Zelda continued. 'When those Moblins realized who I was and took me, I screamed. Six people and a Goron saw as they dragged me away, and they ran away, terrified, yelling at others to help. They were too scared. But then you saw me, and I saw it in your eyes. You didn't even hesitate. You saw me and lunged without any weapons. So irresponsible.'

At that, Zelda let out a childlike laugh.

'You should give your courage more credit. Those Moblins squealed away like pigs after you were done with them.' At the memory, she held her stomach as she rolled in uncontrollable laughter, tears forming in her eyes. 'Oh, Nayru. Remember that one fat one when he dropped his stick, and he ran back for it, but screamed when you lunged at him again?' She wiped a tear from her eye.

A small smile formed on Link's face. 'Yeah, well,' he started, 'people think they're terrifying just because they're big.'

Zelda rolled onto her stomach, resting her elbows on the grass and leaning her chin on the back of her palms.

'That's what I mean, though. You're more courageous than you think,' she insisted. 'Are you going to tell me why you just huffed away like you were Din Almighty? I _know_ it was because I freaked out at you without thinking, but…'

Link stared at her for a while with his brows furrowed as if pondering. His eyes shifted to the grass, and he let out a long sigh.

'I know something else is bothering you,' finished Zelda.

Link looked uncomfortable.

'Come on,' she urged, reaching her hand to rake her fingers through Link's hair covering his face. 'Just say it.'

Link took in a deep breath.

'The other day,' he started, after blowing in the air at her fingers, 'when I handed in my assignment to Rale, the class was talking about the Ceremony and what their roles were. Most of them had roles with their parents, since only the Knights do the blowing-candle thing. And I don't know,' Link shrugged, ruffling his hair with his hand, 'I guess I just felt the full weight of it then, not having parents.' He looked at the ground again. 'Of being alone in the world without a family.'

'I'm your family,' Zelda said immediately. 'Don't be daft, you're not alone. Stop being such a drama queen.'

'Ha! I don't need to be a drama queen, you fill that role perfectly.'

Link ducked as Zelda playfully ripped a handful of grass and threw it uselessly at him.

A prolonged silence fell between them, and Zelda let Link ponder. She studied his stature; he was playing with a loose thread in the wrist of his sleeve, but he seemed tired, though she had never noticed the exhaustion in the faint lines emerging in his young face. He was always cheerful, always so carefree and never stopped joking with her, so perhaps he hid it well from her. Perhaps she wasn't as perceptive as she believed.

'Hey,' Zelda said. 'You don't really feel that way, do you?'

Link looked up to face her, his expression difficult to recognize.

'Don't worry about it, it was stupid.'

'No, it's not.' She rose up in a sitting position, crossing her legs and pulling her dress over her knees. 'Tell me, do you? I'm not asking in that cheesy, confide-in-me-your-heart way. I mean – do you feel _alone_?'

Link narrowed his eyes at her.

'Because,' she quickly spilled before changing her mind, 'I do. And I know it's such an adolescent thing, to feel you're alone and that you're not understood. But I feel _alone_ – in my role.' She bit her lip in uncertainty. 'Of being who I'm dictated to be. The whole title, the name, the legend – it's all bigger than I am. I'm supposed to be _Princess_ Zelda, future Queen of Hyrule, blessed by Nayru in the Triforce of Wisdom. Does that mean my identity isn't my own? That everything I am is specifically carved out to fill the storyboard of the Goddesses – and that even this conversation is pre-destined?'

Link opened his mouth to speak, but closed it again. At this, Zelda raised her curled fists in the air in frustration almost in a motion of pulling out her hair.

'Come on, Link! Don't you feel like that? I can't say this to anyone else. How can I? We're too unique in this. You and I, we're just pretending! I know we have to act as if it didn't happen for the world to be normal again, but how do you go back to normal life after you've seen so much death and how grim life was?'

Link lowered his head, shaking it in irritation. 'Why,' he breathed slowly, 'are you bringing that up now?'

Zelda shrugged, clicking her tongue. 'I don't know. I'd say we did a pretty good job of burying it under the ground for a long time.' She scrunched her face, straining to recall her memory. 'Eight years.'

'You always seemed to enjoy everything as it was given to you,' Link replied. He took off his archery gloves, blew the dust off, and folded them neatly beside him on the bench. 'We came back and after a day, you just became this – this bubbly, cheerful princess. Yeah, you have your odd, dramatic moments where you just act like a drama queen and freak out unreasonably—'

'Thanks.'

'—and you had your moments when you got sad, but it was as if you were really able to let it disappear and forget the whole thing, because if you couldn't, how could you be so okay?'

'How could _you_ be okay?' Zelda demanded. 'Link, I thought all that about _you_. How could _you_ be so okay and happy? When I had – and still have – nightmares about it, I can't confide in anyone. I couldn't confide in you. I thought you were able to successfully able to not let it define you anymore, and I didn't want to be the one to bring it all back.'

She stood up and walked over to the stone bench, placing Link's gloves at the other end and taking a seat beside him. With a sigh, she leaned her head against his shoulder, staring at the castle walls and the large glass window.

'How do you go back to a life of peace after you've seen so much? I could've talked to Impa about it.'

_Impa._

Without warning, Zelda buried her face in her hands as she burst into unexpected sobs. She had never casually dropped Impa's name so much in one night. Humiliated by this sudden burst she did not foresee, she tried to stop, but this spurred her cries even further, gasping in ugly, uneven breaths. She was perfectly aware that she sounded like a starved horse, like she was desperately gasping for air, but she couldn't control herself with a heavy beast pounding at her heart at this casual mention of her former guardian.

Even more surprisingly, Link cradled her in his arms against his chest. This comfort did not help her calm down; in fact, it did the opposite, and like a child she clung to his tunic in unruly cries. In rhythm he pet her head and occasionally played with her hair, placing his chin on her head.

After a while, Zelda realised her cries had calmed down.

'For Nayru's sake,' she said in a heavy, teary voice. 'So embarrassing. Sorry, Link.'

'What're you apologising for?' Link answered reassuringly. 'Don't worry about it.'

Zelda let out an even breath, controlling her lungs.

'Impa shouldn't have died,' she confessed. 'I think it should've been me, Link.'

'Yeah, well,' he responded, a defeat in his voice she'd never heard before. 'Malon shouldn't have died, either.'

They sat in silence again.

'I feel so guilty all the time,' Zelda confessed, leaning against her knees and looking up at Link. 'That they were the only ones we couldn't bring back.'

Link shrugged.

The moment seemed right, but Zelda felt cautious as she spoke.

'How do you feel now?' She asked slowly. 'About Malon, I mean. Do you still…' Zelda cleared her throat, feeling nervous. '…blame yourself?'

There was an unreadable expression on Link's face, where he furrowed his brows and stared intently at the ground. Silence between them never made her feel uncomfortable, but Zelda couldn't stand this one. She knew she was tiptoeing on ice.

'Because if you do blame yourself, you shouldn't. I'm sorry, Link,' she breathed, a weight of eight years' guilt pulsing in her veins. 'I want to say I'm sorry. I replay that day in my head. I know you do, too. But if I had just pulled that lever a few seconds earlier, I know…'

Zelda leaned her head back, afraid that she would burst into tears again.

'I know that it's my fault, so you shouldn't blame yourself. I couldn't save her, even though you were able to save Impa. I just…' She shook her head. 'Just blame me. Anyway, it's easier.'

Link closed his eyes and shook his head, as if her description was unbearable to hear. Zelda pursed her lips instantly.

There was a faint glow above. She had not noticed, but it was completely dark now. The sun had set a long ago and the skies were painted black. The light from the torches from inside the castle shot through the glass window and provided little illumination in the courtyard.

'Come on,' said Link, abruptly standing up and taking Zelda's hand.

'What're you doing?' She shrieked.

He pulled her in close holding her hand in the air and his other resting on her waist after placing hers on his shoulder. He flashed her a bare grin, and twirled swiftly on the spot, then leading her off the stone bench platform and dancing around the grass, both of their feet hopping messily and uncoordinated.

Link started humming a familiar tune, spinning Zelda away from him and bringing her back in.

Zelda laughed loudly at the absurdity, as she and Link hopped as they circled around each other, out of any sense of rhythm and grace.

'Stop, I'm tired!' She panted, running out of breath.

'One more!' cried Link, spinning her again.

'Okay, okay,' Zelda let go of his hand out of the spin, putting a hand to her chest as she took in quick breaths. 'Enough, I'm tired now.'

'Tsk tsk,' said Link disapprovingly, shaking his head. 'You're so out of shape.'

Zelda glared at him, trying to conceal her smile. 'You have a lot of nerve, telling your Queen she looks fat.'

'Well, it's not like you've been running around saving the world,' he retorted, picking up his gloves from the bench. 'It's been eight years since you've done that. Exercise is about habit, Princess.'

Zelda hid a half-smirk, putting her hands on her hips.

'Well then, Link, perhaps you ought to train me. You know, get me back into shape so that a little dancing doesn't have me reaching for a jug of water.'

'Oh ho,' Link said, rubbing his hands together. 'You will rue the day you made me your coach.'

'What are you thinking – oh no. I'm not sparring with you. My hands have long forgotten their feel of weapons. I'd be completely unnatural at it now.'

'Practice, Princess. Practice makes perfect.'

Zelda shook her head, walking towards the door. 'There is definitely no way in the Underworld I am practicing sparring with you. I'll settle for being boring old Queen who governs the land with all her laws, thank you.'

'Do you really? You can't always depending on your Hero to do everything for you, you lazy twit.'

'Ah,' Zelda said, stopping to turn and face him. 'But who says you're the Hero I have to depend on?'

In mock hurt, Link took a step back with a feigned look of shock. 'You have _another_ Hero? How dare you.'

With a sly smile, Zelda put a hand over her eyes, closing them with focused attention. She opened them but almost instantly the cool sensation behind her eyes was gone. She blinked, knowing that Link was awed at the brief moment that her eyes had turned blood-red. Satisfied, she slid a hand over them again, blinking when she felt a warmth rush inside her body.

'Can't let him go just yet,' she said.

There was a brief silence in which Link understood. The memory of Impa was tenacious.

'Besides, it's great for sneaking out of the castle,' Zelda joked, unable to stand the solemnity between them.

Link walked ahead of her, opening the door and motioning for her to step in first. As she passed him with a nod, he leaned in against her ear. 'I still have the Ocarina, so that makes the two of us.'

Zelda whirled in astonishment. 'You what?'

Link put a finger to his lips.

'But…' She lowered her voice. 'How?'

Link quickly pecked her on the cheek with a sly wink, closing the door behind him.

'I'll see you tomorrow, Princess. Lots of rehearsing to do,' he said, walking in the other direction of the hallway with a lazy wave of his hand. 'While you continue to wither away on Rale's assignment, that is.'

Pursing her lips, Zelda kicked her leg in the air as Link jumped out of the way with a laugh. She watched as he walked away, and before he turned the corner he gave her a small smile and disappeared.

Smiling to herself, she felt light as she walked around the other corner towards her bedchambers. Taking in a steady breath, Zelda stepped into her room with hopes for a dreamless sleep.


End file.
